LtCol Victor H. Krulak Navy Cross Citation

The Navy Cross is presented to Victor H. Krulak, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion, First Marine Parachute Regiment, during operations on Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, October 28 to November 3, 1943. Assigned the task of diverting hostile attention from the movements of our main attack force en route to Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville Island, Lieutenant Colonel Krulak landed at Choiseul and daringly directed the attack of his battalion against the Japanese, destroying hundreds of tons of supplies and burning camps and landing barges. Although wounded during the assault on October 30, he repeatedly refused to relinquish his command and with dauntless courage and tenacious devotion to duty, continued to lead his battalion against the numerically superior Japanese forces. His brilliant leadership and indomitable fighting spirit assured the success of this vital mission and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Victor H. Krulak, 1913 - 2008

Los Angeles Times December 31, 2008

Victor H. Krulak, 1913 - 2008
Marine general was a war hero

By Tony Perry

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, celebrated for his leadership in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and for his authoritative book on the Marines, "First to Fight," died Monday at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. He was 95 and had been in declining health for several years.

In a career that spanned three decades Krulak displayed bravery during combat and brilliance as a tactician and organizer of troops.

"Brute was very forgiving of young Marines who made mistakes," said retired Col. G.I. Wilson, a combat veteran. "But he was hell on senior officers who preferred careerism and bureaucracy over decisive action. He detested those who lost sight of looking after their enlisted Marines and young officers."

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-krulak31-2008dec31,0,3033208.story
or http://snipurl.com/9auir [www_latimes_com]

Despite uproar, officials say all well at WTU

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 23, 2008 22:14:04 EST

At a recent gathering in a small auditorium at Fort Lee, Va., wounded soldiers listened as everyone in their chain of command up to a full colonel reassured them that life in the post’s Warrior Transition Unit remained good.

Capt. David Payne, their company commander, reminded them that Fort Lee had ranked in the top five of 35 WTUs for 15 straight months, according to monthly online polls. The barracks are "rated the top in the Army." Three members of the cadre are former wounded soldiers themselves.

Lt. Col. Robert Lather told them the hospital is being revamped, with more space dedicated to active-duty soldiers so they don’t have to wait in long lines with troops going through Advanced Individual Training.

"Your mission is to heal," said Col. Donna Diamond, head of Fort Lee’s Kenner Army Health Clinic. "We’re here to make sure your needs are addressed."

In the back of the room, Sgt. Loyd Sawyer shook his head.

"We’re having another dog-and-pony show," he said.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_lee_warriortransition_122308w/

Defense lays groundwork for new management chief

By Elizabeth Newell enewell@govexec.com
December 22, 2008

While it will be up to President-elect Barack Obama to fill a congressionally mandated deputy chief management officer position at the Defense Department, the Pentagon already is making preparations for the new official's arrival.

The nomination and Senate confirmation of a management chief is statutorily required in both the 2008 and 2009 Defense authorization bills. But creating a new office to consolidate business leadership across the massive agency does not happen overnight, so the Office of the Secretary of Defense is getting a jump-start on the process.

Beth McGrath, principal deputy undersecretary at Defense's Business Transformation Agency, was appointed assistant deputy chief management officer in October and has begun coordinating business management across offices and military departments. Defense Deputy Secretary Gordon England, who also holds the chief management officer title, has developed a charter, timelines, and scope and responsibility papers for the incoming nominee.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41679&dcn=todaysnews

Reserve policy board to be overhauled

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 19, 2008 13:03:44 EST

The Reserve Forces Policy Board that advises Pentagon leaders on NationalGuard and reserve issues would be revamped with fewer service members and moreindependence, under a plan approved by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The initiative, which requires congressional approval, revises membership in away that makes active and reserve officers, who compose a majority of thecurrent 24-member panel, would be in the minority on the slightly smaller20-member panel.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_reserveboard_121908w/

Army creates organization to oversee civilian training

By Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com
December 12, 2008

The Army this week announced it was standing up a civilian university to better manage employee education and training. With plans for a staff of 15, however, the university is less a physical entity than a governing headquarters that aims to better coordinate education programs.

The move is part of a broader plan to centrally manage career development for the Army's 250,000 civilian employees, about 60 percent of whom do not have established career paths. By centralizing management the service plans to level the playing field for all civilians and gain a better understanding of the skills it must develop to meet long-term needs.

Eventually, the service expects to create eight broad career tracks that will provide employees with a clear path for promotion and give them more visibility into opportunities elsewhere in the Army.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41620&dcn=todaysnews

Defense Officials Address Sexual Assault Reporting Issues

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
Dec. 17, 2008

Three years of data and study have helped Defense Department officials determine that unreported occurrences -- not frequency of assaults -- is the main issue concerning sexual assaults within the three U.S. service academies, the deputy director of the department’s sexual assault prevention and response program said.

“There’s a gap between the number of incidences … being reported to us anonymously on survey and the actual number of cadets coming forward and reporting those incidences to the authorities at the academies,” Air Force Lt. Col. Nathan Galbreath said. “And that gap is what we’re most concerned about.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52374

Judge rejects bid to force quicker VA payments

By Hope Yen
December 17, 2008

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by veterans groups to force the Veterans Affairs Department to speed up handling of its disability claims, saying it was not the court's role to impose quicker deadlines.

Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare, which represent roughly 60,000 military veterans, had filed the lawsuit asking the VA process initial disability claims within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. If the VA failed to do so, the two groups were seeking interim payments of roughly $350 a month.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121708ap3.htm

Naval Academy asks for diversity push

The Associated Press
Dec 16, 2008

The board of trustees for the Naval Academy is hoping to boost efforts to attract minority students.

The Board of Visitors, which includes members of Congress, is in the process of drafting a letter to Congress pointing out the importance of recruiting top-notch minority candidates through the congressional nomination process.

Over the past year, the academy has approached 23 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the academy’s goal of attracting more minorities.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_naval_academy_diversity_121508w/

GAO backs boost in oversight of executive pay-for-performance

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
December 16, 2008

The government should improve the certification process for federal agencies with performance-based pay systems for members of the Senior Executive Service, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report (GAO-09-82) found that while oversight of the systems by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget generally was satisfactory, the two could identify ways to further improve and streamline the certification process for the SES pay system and provide agencies with the guidance, tools and training needed to implement those systems.

Currently, agencies are allowed to raise the SES pay cap from $158,000 to $172,200 if OPM and OMB agree that an agency's appraisal system meets nine certification criteria. Those include a requirement that SES performance is linked to the organization's goals.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121608b1.htm

Recruiting Still Challenging Despite Job Market, Official Says

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
Dec. 16, 2008

Although military recruiting is less difficult in a waning economy and low job market, attracting recruits remains an ongoing challenge, a Defense Department official said here today during an interview with the Pentagon Channel.

“Military recruiting is always a challenge, regardless of what the unemployment rate is,” Curt Gilroy, accession policy director for the Defense Department, said.

Unemployment in the United States rose to 6.7 percent in November and is projected to continue its increase in 2009, the Labor Department reported last month. For the military, however, high unemployment typically means more recruits and higher retention rates.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52355

Budget analyst: Recent funding approach masks true costs of war

By Katherine McIntire Peters
December 15, 2008

The Bush administration's novel approach to budgeting for and financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has made it very difficult to discern the true costs of the conflicts, a new report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments concludes.

Historically, the United States has covered the costs of war through the annual appropriations process. Supplemental appropriations were used to cover only initial, unanticipated phases of major conflicts. But the Bush administration relied exclusively on supplemental appropriations to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2008 -- seven years after U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan and five years after they entered Iraq.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121508kp1.htm

Officials Set Military Housing Allowance Rates for 2009

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
December 15, 2008

Housing allowances for military members will go up an average of 6.9 percent in 2009, Defense Department officials announced today.

The increase comes to an average of about $95 per month across the board for the 950,000 servicemembers expected to draw basic allowance for housing, or BAH, in 2009, but some servicemembers will not see any increase at all, and others will see less than that the average increase, Susan A. Brumbaugh director of the Defense Department’s BAH program, said in a Pentagon Channel interview.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52340

Murtha targets military bonuses for fiscal 2010 cuts

By Chris Strohm CongressDaily
December 11, 2008

Faced with immense pressure to trim its budget, the Pentagon should cut enlistment bonuses to military personnel, end its reliance on emergency supplemental spending and get serious about reforming its acquisition processes, a top congressional appropriator said Wednesday.

"What I'm saying is, there's going to be less defense spending," House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., said in a speech at the Center for American Progress on defense priorities.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41610&dcn=todaysnews

Defense launches personal health record application test

From Nextgov.com: By Bob Brewin

The Defense Department began testing an application on Friday that allows soldiers, veterans and their families to manage their personal health records online using programs provided by Google and Microsoft.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41585&dcn=e_ndw

Anthropologists debate ethics of aiding troops

By Dan Vergano and Elizabeth Weise - USA Today
Posted : Monday Dec 8, 2008 22:14:49 EST

SAN FRANCISCO — The military for years has enlisted anthropologists, depending on their expertise to write up analyses of distant places and cultures.

But debate is growing among those scientists over whether it is appropriate for them to work alongside soldiers in combat or to contribute to the growing field of counterterrorism research.
At the just-concluded American Anthropological Association meeting here, the question of whether anthropologists should take part in military operations took the stage, though not for the first time. In 2007, the AAA’s executive board expressed “disapproval” of anthropologists’ work in Afghanistan and Iraq, arguing that they helped in “identifying and selecting specific populations as targets of U.S. military operations.”

The debate is more than academic. Two social scientists with the U.S. Army Human Terrain System were killed in bombings this year in Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/gns_anthropoligists_military_120808/

Court clarifies MSPB role in reserve cases

By STEPHEN LOSEY
November 28, 2008

Federal employees who are military reservists or National Guard members have the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board if they lose their jobs or incur other adverse job actions because of their active-duty military service, a federal appeals court has ruled.

MSPB had previously ruled it lacked jurisdiction to hear Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) claims when a collective bargaining agreement provides a grievance procedure.

The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 18 that MSPB must hear the case of Ermae Russell, an Army Reserve officer and trial attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Jackson, Miss. Russell was transferred to EEOC’s Birmingham, Ala., office after spending almost two years on active duty.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3841583

DOD launches Web-based system to help with moves

By Doug Beizer Federal Computer Week
Published on November 24, 2008

A new Web-based system is available to military service members to help them manage moves to new posts.

The U.S. Transportation Command’s Defense Personal Property System encompasses all aspects of the military move process, the Defense Department said, adding that It lets family members, government managers and moving companies to plan, move and receive shipments. DOD announced the system Nov. 19.

The system lets service members begin planning moves by using any computer with an Internet connection, said Army Lt. Col. William Carberry, the joint program manager for the DPS system.

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154486-1.html

Appointees: Sharpen Your IT Know-How

BY ALLAN HOLMES 11/25/08 1:54 P.M. ET

To give senators some fodder to use when confirming soon-to-be President Barack Obama's political appointees, the Government Accountability Office released a report on Monday outlining the major management problems federal agencies face and some suggested questions senators can ask to learn if the nominees have any idea how to solve them. The report is similar to one GAO released in 2000, right before President Bush's nominees were vetted. But there are some big differences, not the least of which is that the latest report is 155 pages -- almost 10 times longer than the 2000 version. (Either GAO has become more adept at identifying management problems, or there are just a lot more of them.)

Another significant change: the kinds of questions GAO suggests senators ask nominees. The questions are much more nuanced and detailed in the 2008 report.

Read More: http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2008/11/appointees_sharpen_your_it_kno.php

Merit board links employee engagement and productivity

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt

Employees who are fully engaged tend to work in offices that achieve better program results, call in sick less often and stay with their agencies longer, according to a new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The report, which is based on results from a 2005 survey of nearly 37,000 employees at 24 federal agencies, found that despite dwindling resources and increased pressure to improve programs, agencies can thrive if managers connect with their employees.

"Federal supervisors and managers have an important role to play in engaging employees," said MSPB Chairman Neil McPhie. "Those who are successful in engendering these attitudes will lead a more engaged workforce that will produce better outcomes for their agencies."

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41448&dcn=e_wfw

‘Sentinels of Freedom’ Scholarships Help Wounded Veterans

By Sharon Foster
Dec. 3, 2008

Thanks to a recommendation from the Army Wounded Warrior Program at Fort Riley, Kan., retired Army Sgt. Victor Thibeault of San Ramon, Calif., will study general education with the help of a “Sentinels of Freedom” scholarship that also benefits his family.

“The Sentinels of Freedom scholarship has helped me to secure gainful employment [and] a rent-free living space and a minivan for my family, not to mention the unwavering support of the local community,” Thibeault said.

The Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation provides four-year “life scholarships” to help severely wounded veterans become self-sufficient.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52157

Study reveals the success of Pentagon personnel system is unclear

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
December 1, 2008

It's too early to tell whether the Pentagon's new personnel system has met the department's goals of motivating employees and creating more flexibility in hiring and pay decisions, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office.

The report, released on Wednesday, said implementation of the National Security Personnel System was not yet complete and not enough time had elapsed since the first employees were converted to the system to determine its effectiveness.

The department has added more than 181,500 nonbargaining unit employees to NSPS since 2006 and plans to add 20,000 more into the system by the end of 2008, bringing it close to converting all 205,000 nonbargaining unit employees. In September, the department announced it would not place its 270,000 bargaining unit employees under NSPS.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/120108b1.htm

National Resource Directory Helps Wounded Warriors

By Jamie Findlater
Nov. 26, 2008

A Web-based network of support for wounded warriors, veterans and their families, as well as the families of the fallen, has sprung from a collaborative effort by the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

The National Resource Directory will include information on care coordinators, health care providers and support partners, Dr. Lynda Davis, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said during an “ASY Live” interview today on BlogTalkRadio.com.

“Working with wounded ill and injured servicemembers and their families, there [are] many resources and individuals available to help them,” Davis said. “We needed one source that can tell us where everyone in the country is who wants to help our wounded warriors and their families.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52108

DoD Joins With VA to Resolve Gulf War Veterans’ Health Issues

By Gerry J. Gilmore
Nov. 26, 2008

The Defense Department continues to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to resolve veterans’ health issues, including maladies associated with the Gulf War, a senior DoD official said here today.

“We work very closely with the VA for those who’ve separated” from military service, Dr. Michael E. Kilpatrick, deputy director of health affairs for force health protection and readiness, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52107

Warrior Care: Army Chief Partners with Civilian Medical Community

By D. Myles Cullen
Nov. 26, 2008

As part of November’s Defense Department focus on warrior care, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and key members of his medical team met this week with independent experts in psychology, mental health and resiliency training.

The experts included former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, former President of the American Psychological Association Dr. Marty Seligman, U.S. Military Academy professor Dr. Michael Matthews, and Dr. Larry Dewey, chief of psychiatry at the Boise, Idaho, Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Casey told the panel that he invited them to Washington to discuss innovative approaches in support of resilience and comprehensive fitness training for an Army stretched and stressed by the increasing demands of an era of persistent conflict.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52103

Defense finds wikis a boon during crises

By Bob Brewin

SAN DIEGO -- As the conflict between Russia and Georgia escalated into a short war in August, the Pentagon set up wikis to monitor the situation and to coordinate a possible response, a principal adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday.

During the conflict, the Joint Chiefs used wikis, Web pages containing content on a specific topic that users can add to or edit, on its classified networks to coordinate its response. They found that the tools streamlined their coordination efforts and cut e-mail traffic in half during the crisis, said Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, director of command, control, communications and computers. She spoke at the annual Armed Forces Electronics and Communications MILCOM conference here.

Commanders who used wikis during the crisis included Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and since then their use "has spread like wildfire," Brown said.

Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081120_2919.php?zone=NGpopular

Obama administration faces hard choices in managing ground troops

By Katherine McIntyre Peters

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments on Monday released three new reports aimed at informing the next administration as it makes difficult decisions in shaping a new military strategy.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The nonpartisan center's analysts laid out detailed accounts of the recruiting, equipping and organizational challenges confronting the ground services and recommended the Obama administration cut some weapons programs, reorganize special operations forces and reconsider plans to substantially increase the size of the Army.

The reports were the latest installments in the center's "Strategy for the Long Haul," a comprehensive look at how the services are poised to face the most likely strategic challenges in the coming years. The 15-volume collection of monographs seeks to inform the Pentagon's upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, which will get under way in early 2009, as well as guide the Obama administration.

Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081117_3643.php?zone=NGpopular

OPM: Veterans' ranks in federal workforce grow

By Alyssa Rosenberg

The number of veterans working for the federal government rose slightly in fiscal 2007, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management.

Between fiscal 2006 and 2007, the number of veterans in the civilian workforce increased by 4,779, or 0.1 percent. In fiscal 2007, there were 462,744 veterans working for Uncle Sam, accounting for 25.5 percent of the total government workforce. Those figures represent a 0.5 percent gain from fiscal 2003.

Disabled veterans also boosted their ranks in government between fiscal 2003 and 2007, growing 1.3 percent during that time to 103,180. In fiscal 2007, the number of disabled federal employees fell to 0.92 percent, down from 1.2 percent in fiscal 1996, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41392&dcn=e_wfw

Directory of 'plum' federal jobs debuts

By Kellie Lunney klunney@govexec.com
November 11, 2008

The presidential campaign might be over, but the competition for jobs in the new Obama administration has only just begun.

The 2008 Plum Book, the eagerly anticipated guide to more than 8,000 leadership positions in the executive and legislative branches, will be ready Nov. 12. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is publishing this year's tome officially titled "United States Policy and Supporting Positions." Aspiring political appointees and ambitious career executives can purchase the guide for $38 at the Government Printing Office's bookstore. For the more frugal and environmentally conscious, the book also is available for free at GPO's Web site.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41395&dcn=todaysnews

Change.Gov - Office of the President-Elect

This website contains news about the transition.

http://www.change.gov/

GSA Presidential Transition Website

The Presidential Transition Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-293) authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) to develop a transition directory in consultation with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Act provides that the transition directory "shall be a compilation of Federal publications and materials with supplementary materials developed by the Administrator that provides information on the officers, organization, and statutory and administrative authorities, functions, duties, responsibilities, and mission of each department and agency." Senate Report 106-348 clarifies that the directory is intended to "assist in navigating the many responsibilities that fall on a new administration" that is "confronted by an overwhelming amount of material."

More at http://directory.presidentialtransition.gov/

DON info at http://snipurl.com/5cv2l [frwebgate_access_gpo_gov]

See also GovExec.com special report at
http://www.govexec.com/specialreports/transition.htm

Study: Engage employees for better productivity

By STEPHEN LOSEY November 11, 2008

An engaged work force is a productive work force, according to an upcoming study from the Merit Systems Protection Board.

MSPB measured employee engagement by surveying 37,000 employees at 24 agencies in 2005 about how much pride they take in their jobs and agencies, how much they trust their leadership, whether they have opportunities to improve their skills and do their jobs well, and whether they believe they are respected and their achievements recognized.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3810333

Blogging from LCS USS FREEDOM

Military Times reporters blog from the front lines all around the world. Currently Navy Times reporter Phil Ewing and photographer Rob Curtis are aboard the littoral combat ship Freedom.

See blog at http://www.militarytimes.com/blogs/notebook/

Union hardens its stance on Pentagon personnel system

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt

The American Federation of Government Employees said on Wednesday that it plans to seek arbitration or file a lawsuit against the Pentagon's pay-for-performance system.

In a conference call with reporters, AFGE President John Gage said the union was weighing its options for challenging some of the final regulations issued in September by the Defense Department that modified portions of its National Security Personnel System. In particular, the union charged that the new rules limit the scope of collective bargaining.

"Our position has hardened on NSPS," Gage said. "DoD over the past six or seven months has put through regulations that we feel Congress has taken away from them."

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41366&dcn=e_wfw

Analysis: Congratulations, President-Elect Obama. Now Reach Out to Senior Executives

By Carol Bonosaro

That the incoming Obama administration will face huge challenges is indisputable. Many good government groups in Washington are anxious to help, and each seems to have produced a hefty document outlining how he and his new team can accomplish a seamless transition and govern effectively. That advice probably isn't at the top of the president-elect's must-read list just yet.

But in that gusher of transition advice, one message is critical: The new president and his appointees must embrace the career executive corps and effectively engage it if they are to meet those challenges. The almost 7,000 career federal executives, with an average of 26 years of experience, competed for their jobs and were selected on merit. They are an absolutely essential link between any administration's policies and agency implementation at every stage. Perhaps most important, they are the key to mobilizing the 1.8 million federal civilian employees (and millions more contractor staff) to carry out both initiatives and reforms of existing programs.

No administration would think of entering office without already having established a firm and positive "handshake" with the nation's top military brass; to do less, at the least, would open it to severe criticism, and, at the worst, undermine its ability to defend the nation. Exactly the same approach is needed with career civilian executives, but with respect to a much broader set of missions.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41350&dcn=e_wfw

Goals for Giving:Combined Federal Campaign

Excerpt:
The national campaign also has been ramping up online contribution options. "We are reaching out to younger donors with electronic giving options because they are not going to sit down with a 128-page catalog and a pledge card," De Cristofaro says, adding that online alternatives are essential in the 21st century workplace. "As people move to flex time and telecommuting, we have to adjust our systems."

The CFC in Suncoast, Fla., the organization's most successful campaign, is using online donation options to reach out to retired workers as well, says executive director Tony McKenna. Suncoast is piloting two electronic payment systems simultaneously for two years to determine which is better. "If you can get a federal employee before they retire to go to the pledge site, it's going to be really easy for them to donate in the future," he says. "We think this is particularly fruitful because of the huge retiree population."

Some federal agencies, including the CIA, NASA and Navy Federal Credit Union, have established electronic pledge systems, De Cristofaro says. And five years ago, OPM rolled out a pilot project in which employees can log in to Employee Express, an online tool for changing payroll and personnel information, to make donations.

Full column: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1108/110608pb.htm

Next up to deploy: Civilians

By STEPHEN LOSEY
November 02, 2008

Few civilian job postings require applicants to carry an M4 carbine and M9 pistol while at work.

But that unusual job description is popping up more and more these days. The Defense Department aims to deploy more civilian employees to combat zones to assume jobs done by military personnel stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To do this, the Pentagon is building a new database of civilian employee volunteers who possess critical skills. It is expected to be done by April.

Defense will need medical workers, engineers, contracting officials, budget analysts and information technology specialists, to name a few, said Patricia Bradshaw, deputy undersecretary of Defense for civilian personnel policy.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3798588

Ripley at The Bridge at Dong Ha

John W. Ripley

Marine colonel, member of Ranger Hall of Fame, was known for the destruction of a bridge during the Vietnam War

By Nick Madigan
November 3, 2008

John W. Ripley, a retired Marine Corps colonel and a renowned hero of the Vietnam War, was found dead at his home in Annapolis over the weekend, family members said. A cause of death for Ripley, who had undergone two liver transplants, had not been determined yesterday. He was 69.

A Virginia native, Colonel Ripley was best known for a daring feat during the Easter Offensive of 1972, when he dangled for three hours under a bridge near the South Vietnamese city of Dong Ha to attach 500 pounds of explosives to the span, ultimately destroying it. His action, under fire while going back and forth for materials, is thought to have thwarted an onslaught by 20,000 enemy troops and was the subject of a book, The Bridge at Dong Ha, by John Grider Miller.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.ripley03nov03,0,1985920.story

12 Coasties being considered for SEAL training

Of the 12 remaining candidates Coast Guard and Navy officials hope to select as many qualified candidates as possible to go through Navy SEAL training by the end of next week, said a Deployable Operations Group spokesman. The move would be a first for the Coast Guard.

Representatives from DOG and Naval Special Warfare Command will screen the remaining 12 applicants Nov. 2-7 at the Naval Diving Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Fla., said Lt. James McLay, spokesman for DOG commander Rear Adm. Thomas Atkin.

<http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2a157574630179761679&ls=fde3117870600c75731c7677&m=ff011577756600&l=fe861578716d037872&s=fde91577736d027877137977&jb=ffcf14&t=>

Medical officer tapped for third star

Staff report
Posted : Thursday Oct 30, 2008 6:52:17 EDT

President Bush has tapped Rear Adm. John Mateczun for a third star while serving as commander, Joint Task Force National Capitol Region Medical, Washington D.C. Mateczun also is a member of the congressionally directed task force on the future of the military health system and has served as the medical adviser to the Joint Chiefs.

Prior to his long Navy career, Mateczun was an enlisted soldier. He was honorably discharged after receiving the Bronze Star Medal in Vietnam. His other awards include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_flagofficer_102908w/

Fallon to continue Navy focus at Think Tank

Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Oct 29, 2008 6:19:47 EDT

Adm. William Fallon, the former U.S. Central Command commander, will serve as a distinguished fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses and as the Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at MIT’s Center for International Studies.

"We are so delighted that Adm. Fallon has agreed to join CNA. His experiences at the highest levels of the U.S. military and his expertise on strategic issues will be an essential addition to our research program," said Christine Fox, CNA president, in a recent statement.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_fallon_102808w/

Navy encourages use of Web 2.0 tools

Federal Computer Week

Robert Carey, chief information officer for the Navy and the first government CIO to publish a public blog, thinks wikis, blogs and Web feeds will give warfighters seamless access to important information. In a memo issued Oct. 20, Carey said Navy officials endorse the use of Web 2.0 tools to improve communication and collaboration.

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154217-1.html

VA hires Navy to build claims processing system

BY BOB BREWIN, BBREWIN@GOVEXEC.COM

The Veterans Affairs Department has asked the Navy to develop a computer system to process the complex claims for educational benefits that veterans will file under the new GI bill President Bush signed into law in June.

Comment on this article in The Forum.In an Oct. 17 letter sent to the House and Senate VA committees, and obtained by Nextgov, VA Secretary James Peake wrote that the agency has hired the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in Charleston, S.C., to build a system to process educational benefits for veteran as outlined in the 2008 GI bill. The bill, called the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, was part of the 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act that provided veterans with expanded educational benefits. For example, the bill hikes payments for tuition from $1,300 a month to a payment that is pegged at the highest tuition at a public university in a veteran's state of residence, which for Massachusetts would be $10,232. The bill includes monthly living expenses of $1,100 to $1,200.

In July, VA planned to develop a procurement for the new system through the Office of Personnel Management's Training and Management Assistance contract, said Keith Pedigo, assistant deputy undersecretary at the Office of Policy and Program Management at the Veterans Benefits Administration. He testified at a hearing of the House VA committee on Sept. 24.

Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081029_2928.php?zone=NGpopular <http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/ccmcfOaQe8aqo8-L7EnkbQ6Mivd>

DOD jumps on wiki bandwagon

By Doug Beizer
Published on October 27, 2008

Defense Department officials have launched a wiki as a way to improve collaboration among agency scientists, engineers, acquisition workers and military service members.DOD Techipedia is similar to online encyclopedia Wikipedia and the intelligence community’s Intellipedia, said John Young, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154203-1.html?type=pf

Army intranet tops 1 billion log-ins

BY GAUTHAM NAGESH, GNAGESH@GOVEXEC.COM

Army Knowledge Online tallied its 1 billionth log-in this week, more than any other Web portal in the federal government, officials announced on Wednesday. Launched in 2001, the Army's intranet is being expanded across the entire Defense Department.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Army Knowledge Online is a collection of applications and social networking tools on the service's secure network, such as e-mail, file storage, discussion forums and video messaging. Its more than 2 million users include active-duty soldiers, as well as National Guard and Reserve members, civilian employees, and the Army's contractor workforce.

"AKO is basically the mode of communication for the Army," said Lt. Col. Ken Fritzsche, chief of operations for the portal. "I like to say we were Web 2.0 before Web 2.0 was defined. Users have been able to post original content and make their own Web pages since before the term was coined."

Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081024_5245.php?zone=ngtoday <http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/ccmcfOaPz9aqowEq7vfDbPvQ8fk>

Social Networks Will Change Government, Says Gartner

Oct 23, 2008, News Report

By 2011, 70 percent of social computing deployments in government that achieve business benefits will do so in unplanned or unexpected ways, according to Gartner Inc. Government organizations around the world are showing great interest in social computing, yet deployment so far is relatively limited.

"The current global financial turmoil bolsters the case for government adoption of social networks as technology-budget cuts make tapping into societal resources, such as voluntary groups, philanthropists, associations and social network groups essential to complement weaker government action in some critical areas," said Andrea Di Maio, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/424043

TRAGIC MONUMENT

REMAINS OF BLT HQ BLDG., BEIRUT, LEBANON

BOMBED ON OCT. 23, 1983.

ARTIST: Major John T. Dyer, USMCR - 1984

October 23, 1983

Terrorists crashed a truck loaded with explosives through the perimeter of the Marine Battalion headquarters building at the Beirut Airport, killing 241 Marines. No one attempted, or was able, to stop the truck because, under the rules of engagement as the command understood them, sentries had no automatic or heavy weapons at their posts and they carried unloaded M16s.

But several weeks earlier, the President had changed the rules of engagement to allow the Marines to initiate stronger measures for self-defense. Unfortunately, as that directive went through multiple layers in the chain of command, its intent was reversed, and the Marines on the scene believed they had in fact been ordered to remain in a "peacetime" mode. As described by former SecNav John F. Lehman in his book, Command of the Seas (1988) (pp. 322-23):

"[T]he September 12 directive ... went from the president to the secretary of defense; from the secretary of defense through the JCS and their seventeen-hundred man staff; to CINCLANT and CINCLANTFLT and Fleet Marine Force Atlantic in Norfolk for coordination; from the JCS organization thence to the European theater commander in Belgium; from Belgium to the Deputy European Command headquarters in Stuttgart; from Stuttgart to the commander of U.S. naval forces, Europe, in Naples; from Naples to the deputy NAVEUR headquarters in London; from London to the U.S. Sixth Fleet command headquarters in Gaeta, Italy; from Gaeta back to the U.S. commander, Task Force 60, in Naples; from Naples to the U.S. commander, Task Force 61, off Beirut; and from CTF-61 ashore to CTF-62, Colonel Geraghty, in command of the marines. The [blue-ribbon investigative] commission documented how in whispering-down-the-lane fashion the chain of command simply neutralized the impact of the September 12 message by reminding the marines later that the mission and the ROE had not changed."

As you work on your taskers, remember: Words matter. Accuracy counts. Understand what you're doing. Get it right.

25 years after Beirut

By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 20:40:15 EDT

Every October, Judith Young makes a solemn trip from her home in southern New Jersey to Jacksonville, N.C., to honor her late son, Sgt. Jeffrey D. Young.

Along the way, she wonders about the life her son might have lived: A wife, possibly children and maybe a full career in the Corps he loved to serve.

“He loved jumping out of airplanes and rappelling down buildings, but I have no idea what he would have done,” she said. “Who knows? He was only 22.”

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/marine_beirutintro_102308/

Navy drafting Naval Operations Concept

By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 9:52:16 EDT

Deploying U.S. naval forces must be more flexible, able to split up and re-form in different combinations as situations require. The fleet still needs 11 aircraft carriers to meet its missions but more amphibious ships are required to support new missions. The number of formal and informal maritime partnerships will continue to grow. Even when mine-hunting Littoral Combat Ships come into service, a gap will remain in the Navy’s ability to combat the undersea threat. Ballistic missile defense is increasingly seen as a basic naval capability.

Those are some of the issues addressed in a working draft of the Naval Operations Concept (NOC) 2008, another in a series of documents meant to describe how, when and where U.S. naval forces will prevent conflict and prevail in war.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/defense_noc_102108/

New hospital for military dogs opened

By Michelle Roberts - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 6:07:12

SAN ANTONIO — A new $15 million veterinary hospital, complete with operating rooms and intensive care, officially opened here Tuesday, offering an advanced facility to treat military dogs that find bombs and aid patrols on the warfront.

Dogs working for all branches of the military and the Transportation Safety Administration, are trained at Lackland Air Force Base to find explosive devices, drugs and land mines. Some 2,500 are currently working with military units.

Like soldiers and Marines on the battlefront, military dogs suffer war wounds and routine health issues that need to be treated to ensure they can continue working.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_veterinary_hospital_102108/

Limited pensions possible for Filipino vets

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 10:56:00 EDT

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman sees room for a possible compromise that would pay pensions to some World War II Filipino veterans who served under U.S. command.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the Senate veterans’ committee chairman, has been pushing along with his House counterpart, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., to provide pensions to about 19,000 veterans who served with the U.S. military as Filipino Scouts and in other roles.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_filipinoveterans_pensioncompromise_102108w/

Management Matters: Back to the Future

By Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com
October 22, 2008

Any day now, senior Air Force leaders will announce the details of their plan to establish a major command to manage nuclear and deterrence missions. The far-reaching restructuring is aimed at restoring global confidence in U.S. nuclear stewardship following a string of security lapses and unacceptable mistakes that led Defense Secretary Robert Gates to sack the service's senior civilian and military leaders in June.

As service leaders iron out the critical details inherent in establishing a new command structure, it's worth remembering that the Air Force used to have an organization that did exactly what it now needs to do. The Strategic Air Command was once the pride of Cold War airmen, for whom the nuclear mission was synonymous with national preservation. The service's decision to dismantle the command in 1991 following Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, the first major post-Cold War military engagement, is a cautionary tale in the unintended consequences that can result from a major reorganization.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?filepath=/dailyfed/1008/102208mm.htm

NavCivGuide: A Handbook for Civilians in the United States Navy

Just as Thomas Cutler's The Bluejacket's Manual serves as the standard introduction and continuing reference guide for American sailors, this new handbook provides a basic reference guide for civilians working for the U.S. Navy. It will acquaint them with the Navy's world of acronyms, n-codes, uniforms, and customs. The author explains that a big step toward fitting in has always been learning how to "talk the talk and walk the walk," and this guide provides new employees and veteran workers alike with the words and steps needed to succeed in the Navy. Among its special features are sections on using military salutations properly, reading naval uniforms, understanding the culture of the Department of Defense, and an introduction to ships and airplanes.

Thomas J. Cutler, Lt. Cmdr., USN (Ret.), is also the author of A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy, The Battle of Leyte Gulf, and among other books, and is the recipient of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature.

http://www.usni.org/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=1716

Web 2.0 technologies are seen as vital to attracting younger employees

BY GAUTHAM NAGESH, GNAGESH@GOVEXEC.COM

The federal government must adapt and embrace Web 2.0 technologies such as virtual worlds, wikis and social networks to attract and retain younger employees, because the technologies are here to stay, two federal knowledge management practitioners said in a presentation in Washington on Thursday.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Speaking at a conference on knowledge management and business intelligence organized by the Digital Government Institute, Giora Hader, the Federal Aviation Administration's knowledge architect, said agencies must embrace the world of social networking and collaborative technologies or risk losing out on a generation of new workers who are needed to fill gaps left by the upcoming wave of retirements.

"The fact is Web 2.0 is here to stay; it's not a fad," Hader said. "It can increase workforce efficiency and effectiveness while improving service -- keep in mind that we are all civil servants."

Full story: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081017_9073.php?zone=ngtoday <http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/ccmcfOaPfbaqok3L6RAAbN-V7Cd>

Blackwater: We’ll defend against pirates

By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Oct 19, 2008 9:29:26 EDT

The military contractor Blackwater Worldwide is offering to protect merchant ships from pirates, the company announced Thursday, advertising the security services of its ship for use off the coast of Somalia or elsewhere.

A rash of pirate attacks has driven up the cost of insurance and pay for crew members aboard the thousands of merchant vessels that pass off the Horn of Africa, the company said, making it comparatively economical to engage its ship, the McArthur, and its crew of ex-military specialists.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_blackwater_pirates_101708w/

Army to outline career paths in test program

By STEPHEN LOSEY
October 15, 2008

The Army plans to test a new program this fiscal year that will define the career paths and training and advancement opportunities for its 250,000 civilian employees.

Susan Duncan, the Army’s director for civilian personnel policy, told Federal Times on Oct. 9 that civilian employees will eventually be assigned to one of eight broad career groups, depending on the types of jobs they hold. Once under those career groups, employees will be told what steps or assignments they will need to take to reach their career goals. The Army will also use the groups to help employees receive the training and education needed to advance, Duncan said.

"We will restructure Army civilian education and career progression processes to facilitate career development at every level," acting Army Undersecretary Nelson Ford said Oct. 8 at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in Washington. "To keep great talent for tomorrow, we must cultivate that potential today."

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3772508

Yorktown Day, October 19th

On October 19, 1781, a British army under General Charles Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General Washington’s combined American and French army. Upon hearing of their defeat, British Prime Minister Frederick Lord North is reputed to have said, "Oh God, it's all over." And it was. The victory secured independence for the United States and significantly changed the course of world history.

http://www.nps.gov/york

Remember USS Yorktown CV-5

Two weeks after the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Yorktown transited the Panama Canal to reinforce the badly damaged Pacific Fleet. The carrier's first combat operation was the Marshalls-Gilberts raid in early February 1942.

Yorktown then steamed to the South Pacific, where she participated in a series of raids and other operations that climaxed in the Battle of Coral Sea in early May. In this action, in which she was damaged by enemy bombs, her planes attacked two Japanese aircraft carriers, helping to sink Shoho and damaging Shokaku.

Quick repairs at Pearl Harbor put Yorktown into good enough condition to participate in the Battle of Midway on 4-6 June 1942. During this great turning point of the Pacific War, her air group fatally damaged the Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu and shared in the destruction of the carrier Hiryu and cruiser Mikuma. However, successive strikes by dive bombers and torpedo planes from Hiryu seriously damaged Yorktown, causing her abandonment during the afternoon of 4 June.

Two days later, while salvage efforts were underway, the Japanese submarine I-168 torpedoed both the damaged carrier and the destroyer Hammann (DD-412), sinking the latter immediately and Yorktown shortly after daybreak on 7 June 1942. USS Yorktown's wreck was discovered and examined in May 1998, in surprisingly good condition after fifty-six years beneath more than three miles of sea water.

This page features a number of images of USS Yorktown, selected from the more extensive coverage linked below.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-xz/cv5.htm

New president will face major challenges at Defense

By Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com
October 16, 2008

Two new reports by the non-partisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments detail some of the deep challenges the next administration faces in managing the all-volunteer military and a shrinking base of defense contractors.

The reports, released on Wednesday, focus on military manpower and the U.S. industrial base. They are part of a 15-part series the center is producing to inform the 2010 quadrennial defense review required by Congress and to help shape the next administration's defense strategy.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41212&dcn=todaysnews

DoD to hold family support summit Oct. 20

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer

Posted : Friday Oct 17, 2008 6:24:35 EDT

Troops and family members are invited to join a live Oct. 20 Pentagon webcast of a summit meeting that will explore the best ways to support families of service members who are killed, seriously wounded or who become ill or injured, as well as a new plan for coordinating treatment between local, state and federal agencies.

The day-long meeting of roughly 300 family members and participants from U.S. partner organizations and agencies, headlined as “Consistent Best Practices for Support of Families of Fallen and Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members,” will be split into two sessions.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_familysummit_pentagon_101508w/

Gates: Extremist threat requires new approaches

By Robert Burns - The Associated Press

Posted : Friday Oct 17, 2008 6:24:49 EDT

WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies must find new approaches — and create new institutions — to deal with the long-term threats posed by violent extremism, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

In a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Gates said the security of the American people will depend increasingly on an ability to head off the next insurgency or stop the collapse of another failing state. He focused specifically on Afghanistan, but nuclear-armed Pakistan also is at or near the top of the Bush administration’s list of countries in danger of falling victim to internal chaos.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_gates_101508/

Transcript at http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1298

Bush signs defense bill with 3.9% pay raise

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 15, 2008 9:40:24 EDT

The 2009 Defense Authorization Act, which includes a host of improvements in military pay and benefits, capped by a 3.9 percent raise, was signed into law by President Bush on Tuesday.
The pay raise, which takes effect on Jan. 1, marks the eighth consecutive year in which pay for service members will exceed the average increase in private-sector wage growth.

There is more to the defense bill than pay and benefits increases, however. It also includes $531.4 billion in budget authority for peacetime defense programs, including weapons research and purchases, operations and training, military construction and health care programs and other personnel costs.

Also in the bill is permission for the Pentagon to spend $68.6 billion for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan — enough for about six months at the current pace of expenses.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_defenseauthorization_signed_101408w/

To read the FY09 NDAA online: Go to http://thomas.loc.gov. Search for bill S.3001. Select version 5, Enrolled Bill.

Mullen: PTSD screenings for all returnees

By Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Monday Oct 13, 2008 12:24:14 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s top uniformed officer is calling for all returning combat troops, from privates to generals, to undergo screening for post-traumatic stress with a mental health professional, a move aimed at stemming an epidemic of psychological issues among veterans.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there’s a reluctance to acknowledge psychological problems for fear of showing weakness. Troops now fill out questionnaires after combat tours that help determine whether they have suffered psychological damage. They’re examined by medical professionals for physical injuries, but not by mental health experts.

"I’m at a point where I believe we have to give a [mental health] screening to everybody to help remove the stigma of raising your hand," Mullen said. "Leaders must lead on this issue or it will affect us dramatically down the road."

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/gns_ptsdscreening_101308/

Panel: Transition presents opportunities for civil service reforms

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com
October 14, 2008

The upcoming presidential transition and the current economic crisis present major challenges, but they also provide an opportunity for much-needed reforms to the rules governing federal workers, panelists said during a forum on Tuesday.

Those changes could include strengthening performance management, creating a mechanism for senior executives to move around more and rebranding federal service for a new generation of employees, the panelists said. The discussion was sponsored by the Coalition for Effective Change, a nonpartisan group of current and retired federal employees and executives.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41185&dcn=todaysnews

Feature Article: Hidden Talent

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com
Government Executive October 1, 2008

Removing obstacles for workers with disabilities is about more than ramps and readers - it's about tapping the skills agencies need.

The National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Md., is one of the most buttoned-down facilities in the nation. When I arrived at the first checkpoint one morning in late July to conduct interviews, the guards summoned a Hummer in case I tried to make a run for it while they searched for my name on a clearance checklist. But for people with disabilities seeking jobs, the complex might be one of the most accessible places in government.

http://www.govexec.com/features/1008-01/1008-01s3.htm

OPM meets most 2008 strategic goals

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com
October 9, 2008

The Office of Personnel Management has met 91 of its 105 operational goals for 2008, the agency announced on Thursday.

The public list of goals was part of the 2006-2010 strategic plan created by former OPM Director Linda Springer, who viewed the list as an accountability measure. Some of the accomplishments include improving standards for the acquisition workforce and creating cost-effective telework training for managers.

OPM has missed its deadline on three objectives related to retirement modernization and training, but has until the end of 2008 to complete 11 other goals. Those include an audit of the emergency preparedness of the Federal Executive Boards, a report on Senior Executive Service pay-for-performance systems, and a review of providers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1008/100908ar1.htm

OPM announces 2008 Presidential Rank Award winners

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com
October 7, 2008

President Bush has recognized more than 350 career federal executives for their outstanding leadership and longtime service to government.

"Winners of the prestigious Presidential Rank Award represent the cream of the crop within the federal executive ranks," Office of Personnel Management acting Director Michael Hager said in a statement announcing the 2008 awards. "Their professional dedication and commitment to excellence is helping to advance President Bush's agenda for enhancing federal government performance and creating a more effective civil service."

Of the 353 recipients, 61 career employees were named Distinguished Senior Professionals or Executives <http://www.opm.gov/ses/performance/2008dspe.asp> . That distinction is limited to 1 percent of the senior professional and senior executive corps.
***
The other 292 award recipients were named Meritorious Executives and Senior Professionals <http://www.opm.gov/ses/performance/2008merit.asp> , an honor limited to 5 percent of the corps. They will receive awards worth 20 percent of their base pay, a minimum of $22,894, and up to $34,400 in agencies with certified appraisal systems, and $31,700 in agencies without them.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1008/100708ar1.htm

Presidential Rank Awards

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

2008 Meritorious Senior Professionals
* George Akst
* Henry D. Dardy
* Carter T. White

2008 Meritorious Executives
* Patricia C. Adams
* Sheryl J. Bourbeau
* Luther N. Bragg
* David E. Burgess
* Anthony J. Cifone
* Edward R. Cochrane, Jr.
* Barry L. Dillon
* Howard Fireman
* Raymond F. Geoffroy
* Ray A. Glas
* Steven R. Iselin
* Michael F. Jaggard
* Bobby R. Junker
* Sophie A. Krasik
* Joseph B. Marshall, Jr.
* John D. McLean
* Linda J. Meadows
* Susan P. Raps
* George W. Solhan
* James D. Ward
* Ariane L. Whittemore

http://www.opm.gov/ses/performance/2008merit.asp

OPM issues guidelines for discrimination and retaliation cases

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com
October 6, 2008

The Office of Personnel Management has published new best practices for handling disciplinary actions prompted by discriminatory behavior or retaliation against whistleblowers.

The advice, compiled in a Sept. 30 report <http://www.opm.gov/publications/NoFearReport-Sep08.pdf> , is based on interviews with officials at agencies that held employees accountable in whistleblower and anti-discrimination cases in 2006, and received top leadership ratings on the 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey. OPM did not name the agencies consulted.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1008/100608ar1.htm

Think tank publishes transition guides for government leaders

By Elizabeth Newell enewell@govexec.com
October 6, 2008

The IBM Center for the Business of Government has released two books that offer detailed guidance to help government executives navigate the presidential transition.

In The Operator's Manual for the New Administration <http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/Operators_Manual.pdf> , IBM presents eight areas in which newly appointed agency heads and their senior management teams should focus to learn the culture of government, familiarize themselves with jargon and use all the tools at their disposal.

By concentrating on these eight areas -- leadership, performance, people, money, contracting, technology, innovation and collaboration -- executives "make [government] work to advance policy goals and objectives," the introduction stated.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1008/100608e1.htm

Publication at http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/Operators_Manual.pdf

Military relied on bonuses to lure new recruits

By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
October 3, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After seven years at war, the military paid recruits hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year as they answered the call to duty.

According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the Army and Marine Corps doled out nearly $640 million in the fiscal year that ended Tuesday to entice recruits to join up.

The two services continue to bear the brunt of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but recruits were buoyed by incentives that can be as high as $40,000 each. All told, the enlistment incentives coupled with the promise of thousands more for education, increased the costs of Army and Marine bonuses by 25 percent over last year's totals, The Associated Press has learned.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1008/100308ap2.htm

Bush signs funding bill in final hours of the fiscal year

CongressDaily
October 1, 2008

President Bush on Tuesday evening signed into law a more than $600 billion continuing resolution package that funds the federal government through March 6. It includes three fiscal 2009 appropriations bills and $22.9 billion for disaster relief.
***
The bill funds most programs at fiscal 2008 levels but includes the fiscal 2009 Defense, Military Construction-VA and Homeland Security spending bills. Of the $22.9 billion in disaster relief funding, $7.9 billion goes into the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/100108cdam2.htm

Bush order allows direct hiring of military spouses

By Tom Shoop tshoop@govexec.com
September 29, 2008

President Bush issued an order last week granting federal agencies the authority to bypass competitive hiring regulations to appoint spouses of military service members to civilian government jobs.

"It shall be the policy of the United States to provide for the appropriately expedited recruitment and selection of spouses of members of the armed forces for appointment to positions in the competitive service," Bush's executive order <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080926-8.html> stated.

The order allows agency heads to make noncompetitive appointments to the following groups of people:
* Spouses of military service members who are on active duty under orders that authorize a permanent change of station move -- assuming the spouse is moving, too.
* Spouses of totally disabled retired or separated members of the armed forces.
* Widows or widowers (who have not remarried) of service members killed on active duty.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/092908ts1.htm

VA quadruples payments to vets with brain injuries

By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press
September 23, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is more than quadrupling monthly payments to some veterans suffering brain injuries, as the number of such war wounds mounts from the roadside bombings of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new compensation is based on the assessment that even some troops who have the mildest form of traumatic brain injury could end up with chronic headaches, memory loss, anxiety or other symptoms that will hurt their chances of getting a job or job advancement - thus reducing their lifetime earnings by 40 percent.

In a regulation announced Tuesday by the Veterans Affairs Department, officials changed the way they evaluate the injuries. They now judge a person to be 40 percent disabled in such cases rather than 10 percent. The old lower rating was set by a 1961 regulation.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/092308ap2.htm

Non-Cabinet agencies included in formal succession planning process

By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky@govexec.com
September 18, 2008

President Bush has issued an executive order aimed at standardizing succession planning requirements and bringing all agencies -- including non-Cabinet level ones -- into the fold.

With very few exceptions, agencies that haven't done so already must draft a contingency plan and submit it to the White House Counsel's Office for comment and review by Oct. 11, Bush mandated late last week.

"It is the policy of the federal government to ensure that each executive branch agency can perform its essential functions and remain an effectively functioning part of the federal government under all conditions," the order <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080911-4.html> stated.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/091808rb1.htm

Executive Order http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080911-4.html

Hiring is high on new OPM director's agenda

By Alyssa Rosenberg
September 16, 2008

During his first press briefing on Monday, the government's new personnel chief said one of his priorities is ensuring that agency leaders take responsibility for workforce issues, including the hiring process.

"I think that each agency, they have to be totally accountable for human capital," said Michael Hager, director of the Office of Personnel Management. "There's only one thing that makes everything function, and that's human capital... The leadership at the top absolutely owns it."

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/091608ar1.htm

Marines Anticipate Reaching Five-Year Goal Two Years Early

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
September 12, 2008

Even without offering big cash bonuses, promising opportunities for college or assuring a better life after service, the Marine Corps anticipates meeting its five-year force-growth goal two years early, the commander of Marine recruiting said via teleconference today from his headquarters in Quantico, Va.

The Marine recruiting message is dynamically different from that of other services, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Robert E. Milstead Jr. said as he discussed the current state and contemporary challenges in recruiting Marines.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51148

New Program Aims to Help With Adjustment After Redeployment

By William Bradner
Sept. 10, 2008

Earlier this year, a Fort Rucker, Ala., soldier died when he lost control of his new sport motorcycle in a curve, hit the culvert, was ejected off the bike, and slammed into a light pole. He was wearing a helmet, but had not attended the motorcycle safety course, and did not have a motorcycle endorsement on his license.

This weekend, the Army is testing a new program designed to help these soldiers adjust from the high-paced, high-adrenaline combat environment to garrison or “home” life.

Warrior Adventure Quest combines high-adventure outdoor recreation activities such as skydiving, paintball, ropes courses, rock climbing, mountain biking, stock car racing, skiing, and others, with Battlemind training to help soldiers re-adjust to a calmer paced lifestyle.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51096

OPM issues guide to overhauling federal hiring process

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
September 9, 2008

The Office of Personnel Management on Friday launched an initiative designed to streamline the recruitment and hiring processes at federal agencies.

The hiring guide, which was developed by OPM and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, aims to simplify the federal hiring process and improve the applicant's experience with it, according to a memorandum from OPM acting Director Michael Hager.

"There is broad agreement that the current competitive hiring process could be improved," the guide stated. "These combined frustrations make it more difficult for the federal government to hire qualified employees in the stiff competition for the top talent."

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/090908b1.htm

Administration threatens veto of Senate defense measure

By Megan Scully
September 9, 2008

The White House Tuesday threatened to veto the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill if it includes language in the Senate's version of the measure that would prohibit the use of private security contractors for any "inherently governmental" security functions in combat zones.

In its Statement of Administration Policy, the White House also said it would veto the bill, which the Senate is expected to begin debating Tuesday, if it forbids contractors from interrogating detainees.

"Such a provision would unduly limit the United States' ability to obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack." The House bill includes similar language on the use of contractors in war zones.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/090908cdam1.htm

Seeking Mental Health Help Shows Courage, Officials Say

By Christie Vanover
Sept. 8, 2008

The Army is a team that embraces the Warrior Ethos by never accepting defeat and never quitting.

But what happens when someone is pressured by the daily grind, life at home or financial burden? What happens when they believe admitting their problems contradicts the ethos by which they live?

“It’s hard for [people] to ask for help,” said Chris Staker, U.S. Army Garrison Benelux health promotion coordinator. “Even though we try hard, we haven’t erased the stigma of seeking help.”

Because of this and other concerns felt throughout the service, Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, is stressing that seeking help is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of courage and strength.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51070

Scarcity of science students worries military IT officials

By Gautham Nagesh
September 5, 2008

The dearth of Americans being trained in science and technology is probably one of the greatest threats to the military's future, several Pentagon information technology officials said during a luncheon on Friday.

Comment on this article in The Forum."If we're not sweating bullets about the education problem, we're all in the wrong framework," David Tillotson, deputy chief information officer for the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, told an audience of IT industry professionals at the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association event.

Tillotson and other officials said they were concerned that U.S. high schools and colleges are not turning out enough engineers to help fill the military's next-generation needs. The issue is critical enough that Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England recently raised it a high-level meeting of Pentagon officials, Tillotson said.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/090508n1.htm

Mississippi Guard Applies Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
Sept. 3, 2008

Hurricane Katrina provided valuable lessons three years ago that local, state and federal response agencies along the Gulf Coast were able to put to work for Hurricane Gustav this week, Army National Guardsmen providing relief efforts here said yesterday.

Tables and charts citing those lessons are posted in unit headquarters all across Mississippi. Though Hurricane Gustav was weaker than expected when it hit the shores of the Gulf Coast early Labor Day morning, the National Guard was ready, Army Sgt. Michael Webb of the Mississippi National Guard said.

“The planning was a lot better this time,” Webb said. “Every battalion in the state had a plan and knew exactly what they had to do. Even if Gustav had been as bad [as] or worse than Katrina, we were 10 times more prepared.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51016

OPM criticizes proposal for a compressed work week

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
September 3, 2008

The Office of Personnel Management opposes a proposal by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to create a four-day, 40-hour work week for federal employees.

A compressed schedule would hurt the government's ability to provide essential services and weaken national security, OPM acting Director Michael Hager wrote in a letter to the Maryland Democrat. Homeland security and intelligence operations, for instance, must run around the clock, Hager stated.

He also expressed concern that some employees could find the new hours burdensome. Many care for young children or aging adults, he said, making it difficult for them to work longer days. Others depend on mass transit or carpools, he noted.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/090308b1.htm

Bush signs sole-survivor benefits bill

By Rick Maze
September 2, 2008

President Bush on Friday signed into law an expansion of military benefits to sole surviving members of a military family who decide to leave the military.

The law applies retroactively to sole surviving members of families in which one or more siblings were killed or severely injured in the military. It is called the Hubbard Act, named for an Iraq war veteran, Jason Hubbard, who took an early discharge from the Army after two of his brothers were killed in Iraq. Because his discharge left him several months short of completing the three-year enlistment for which he had signed up, the combat veteran was denied some benefits.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/08/military_solesurvivor_bush_082908w/

Bush Praises Cooperation in Hurricane Response

By Jim Garamone
September 1, 2008

Cooperation among federal, state, local governments and non-governmental agencies has been much better as Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast than it was when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, emergency officials said.

Speaking in Austin, Texas, today, President Bush praised the governors of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, saying “there was clearly a spirit of sharing assets, of listening to somebody's problems and saying, how can we best address them?”

Bush said the federal government is very much involved in assisting the states. Gustav stormed ashore in Louisiana this morning. More than 2 million people evacuated their homes in advance of the storm that killed 84 people in the Caribbean.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50997

OMB will require agencies to use Networx

By Gautham Nagesh
August 29, 2008

A memorandum released by the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday effectively requires agencies to make use of the General Services Administration's new Networx telecommunications contract. Agencies deciding not to use Networx must conduct extensive analysis to justify their decision.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The memo, signed by Karen Evans, administrator for e-government and information technology at OMB, stated: "Agencies shall use the General Service Administration Networx contract to satisfy requirements currently being met via the FTS2001 contract." According to the memo, the decision to require Networx was based on a cost-benefit analysis OMB and the Federal Chief Information Officers Council conducted.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080829_1382.php

Program Ensures Reserve Component Medical Readiness

By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
August 29, 2008

The Reserve Health Readiness Program ensures that reserve-component servicemembers have the ability and access to meet their deployment requirements, the program’s director said yesterday.

“The program was designed to supplement the reserve component readiness mission, and to add another resource that they could tap into to have these services done so they could satisfy their deployment requirements,” U.S. Public Health Service Cmdr. Diedre Presley, program manager of the RHRP, said during a “Dot Mil Docs” radio program on BlogTalkRadio.com.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50988

Agencies progress in identifying, consolidating IT infrastructure

By Gautham Nagesh
August 28, 2008

With a deadline looming for agencies to submit plans on how they could consolidate their computer networks and standardize the applications that support agency operations, officials hope the blueprints will lead to lower costs, improve agency collaboration and reduce the government's energy footprint.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The General Services Administration has asked agencies to submit by Sept. 30 five-year plans for how they will purchase information technology equipment and services. GSA plans to use the reports in the IT infrastructure line of business initiative to find common purchases and applications that can be consolidated, including mainframe computers, PCs, software and wireless communications.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080828_1071.php

Contractors make up one fourth of intelligence workforce

By Pamela Hess
August 27, 2008

More than a quarter of the U.S. intelligence agencies' employees are outside contractors, hired to fill in gaps in the military and civilian work force, according to a survey of the 16 intelligence agencies.

That is roughly on par with last year's total, the first year the national intelligence director's office tried to count the outside help, Ronald Sanders, the intelligence director's human resource chief, told reporters Wednesday.

The number of government employees at U.S. intelligence agencies is classified, but Sanders confirmed it is more than 100,000. Contractors are not included in that total. Sanders said 27 percent of the total number of intelligence employees are contractors. With around 100,000 as a baseline, that translates to an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 private contractors working for agencies like the CIA and the National Security Agency.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0808/082708ap2.htm

Skelton Calls On Next Administration to Address National Security Challenges

August 19, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) called on the next administration to work with Congress to address the national security challenges that confront America today and in the years ahead.

“No matter which Presidential candidate American voters choose in November, we need to begin planning now for the issues our country must focus on when the new President begins to govern. All areas of American policy present challenges, but the challenges in the national security arena are particularly acute and critical to the nation,” said Skelton.

http://armedservices.house.gov/apps/list/press/armedsvc_dem/SkeltonDefenseChallenges081908.shtml

Skelton on the Principles for a National Strategy

August 1, 2008

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the fifth in a series of speeches concerning the need for a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests. Attached please find Skelton’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“I rise to speak about how the United States can best advance its national interests by adopting a new strategy. In my prior speeches, I have asserted that we currently lack an effective strategy and that the next President should engage in a focused effort, in concert with Congress and the American people, to identify and adopt a new strategy early in his Administration. I have noted that we live in a time when the U.S. is the world’s preeminent power, but also in a time when transnational events are increasingly significant and in which several large nations, and some entire regions of the world, are returning to prominence. All of this stresses the international system.
http://armedservices.house.gov/apps/list/press/armedsvc_dem/skeltonpr080108.shtml

Skelton Speech on National Strategy at The Brookings Institution

July 31, 2008

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) spoke on national strategy at a luncheon seminar hosted by The Brookings Institution. Attached below please find Skelton’s speech as prepared for delivery.

"I want to thank Dr. Singer for inviting me to address this luncheon seminar. It’s an honor to be with you and to share the program with one of our country’s most distinguished soldier scholars, my friend Major General Bob Scales.

"From the time I was a young man, reading military history has been my hobby. And while this hobby didn’t necessarily serve a professional purpose when I was practicing law in Lexington, Missouri, it has certainly helped me in my work on the House Armed Services Committee. My background as a student of military history also impressed upon me the importance of professional military education, which is key to developing the strategic thinkers and innovative leaders who will serve as military advisers to the President and to Congress.

http://armedservices.house.gov/apps/list/press/armedsvc_dem/skeltonpr073108.shtml

Skelton on Our Role as the Indispensable Nation

July 24, 2008

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) today delivered the fourth in a series of speeches in the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the need for a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests:

“Tonight, I rise to continue my series of discussions about the future of American grand strategy. Last week, I suggested that we strive to remain and even bolster our role as the world’s indispensable nation, and that should guide our thinking as we consider the imperatives that define our national interest.

http://armedservices.house.gov/list/press/armedsvc_dem/skeltonpr072508.shtml

Skelton on the United States’ Role in the World

July 16, 2008

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) today delivered the third in a series of speeches in the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the need for a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests:

“I rise once again to discuss the need for a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests in the world. Last week I delivered two addresses on this topic. In the second speech I argued that our understanding of the role the U.S. should play in the world is the foundation for our strategy. It will define our vital interests and will condition the means we use for advancing those interests.

http://armedservices.house.gov/list/press/armedsvc_dem/skeltonpr071708.shtml/

Skelton on America’s Strategic Context

July 10, 2008

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) today delivered the second in a series of speeches in the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the need for a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests:

"Yesterday, I rose to speak about the need for America to embark upon a process to develop a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests in the world. Today, I rise to continue that theme; I want to take the conversation a little further. A strategy, as I said last night, describes the way we employ all elements of national power to advance our critical interests. Ultimately, determining these critical interests depends upon the place America occupies in the world. What do we see as our role? Who do we want to be and how do we want to interact with the rest of the globe’s inhabitants to get there? That is the fundamental question, of course, but we are not ready to answer it yet.

http://armedservices.house.gov/list/press/armedsvc_dem/skeltonpr071008B.shtml